20 years have passed since the first generation BMW iDrive made its debut. Now, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, BMW is announcing the next chapter in its display and operating system, which is set to transport driver-vehicle interaction into a new digital and intelligent age.

CES 2021 will take place from 11 to 14 January 2021 in exclusively digital form. BMW is utilising the virtual forum the event provides to give a global audience an initial preview of its upcoming all new BMW iDrive system, which will be officially unveiled later in 2021.

The new iDrive display and operating system will be available for the first time on the BMW iX, which will come to the market in 2021. 

20 years ago, the BMW iDrive operating system introduced for the first time in the BMW 7 Series swept away old habits and purged the cockpit of the growing number of buttons and controls. The 7 Series was also the first car to feature voice control technology. 

The iDrive Controller and voice control made operating the car's systems significantly easier and safer. Where the driver previously had to find and engage a different dedicated button in the cockpit for each individual function, now they could keep their hand in one place on the Controller, which occupied an ergonomically ideal location on the centre console.

Over a period of just a few years, this innovative principle morphed into the new industry standard. Since the advent of iDrive, BMW has consistently taken the lead in the field of intuitive in-car operation. This has led to the introduction of favourites buttons to store individually selected operating steps.

BMW put in place further innovations to optimise driving comfort and safety. In 2004, it became the first carmaker to present a Head-Up Display, which projected relevant driving information onto the windscreen in the driver's direct line of sight.

Multimodal operation reached a new level in 2015 with the world premiere of BMW Gesture Control in the 7 Series. Voice control went through a sustained process of evolution, and since 2015 natural language understanding has enabled systems to be operated using naturally spoken instructions instead of pre-set commands.

BMW iDrive also paved the way for the introduction of digital services, which have enabled a consistent progression of the relationship between user and car. The connection between the vehicle and driver became even closer in 2016. The BMW Connected app now allowed customers to fully integrate their car into their digital lifestyle, all through their smartphones.

A new and online-based voice control system premiered in 2018 in the new BMW 3 Series. The BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant is a digital companion whose skillset can be constantly expanded, underpinned by the modular and flexible BMW Operating System 7 vehicle software. 

The next generation of BMW iDrive takes the burgeoning relationship between a BMW and its driver to a new level. It is set up to utilise the potential of an intelligently connected vehicle more extensively than ever and so make the mobility experience even safer, even more comfortable and convenient, and even richer in variety.

The BMW Design team responsible for user experience and user interaction has provided some glimpses behind the scenes of its development work. All the content from BMW's presence at CES 2021 and further digital presentations can be viewed in a special CES feature here.